Russian Super League - Former Buffalo first round selection Artem Kriukov (Buffalo Sabres) today signed a two year deal with HC SKA. The 25 year old forward spent most of his career with HC Lokomotiv. This is a strong move for prospect, as it will place him under a North American coach, hopefully helping him jump start his development, which has slowed lately.

Russian Super League - Artem Kryukov (Buffalo Sabres) had not had a joyful start to the 2006-07 season. He started the season with HC Vityaz and struggled to fit into the new club. He went pointless in 12 games with the team and dropped in the team’s depth chart. In November the Buffalo Sabres prospect was put on waivers by Vityaz and returned home to his HC Lokomotiv to an uncertain future. Fortunately, the young forward fit right in with the younger, revamped HC Lokomotiv squad coached by former NHLer Nikolai Borschevsky. Kryukov at times skated with Artukhin and Fedor Fedorov, but that line has since been split up. What is clear after watching Kryukov skate in recent games against HC Metallurg (Novokuznetsk), HC Severstal (Cherepovets), and HC SKA (St. Petersburg) is that Kryukov fit in with his old team and his development has come back on track. His skating has improved, as his aggression level on the ice. He is hard to compete against next to the boards and clearly become a stronger, physical presence. He is a player who should definitely be watched over the remainder of the 2006-07 season.

Russian Super League - According to the Buffalo Sabres organization, the NHL club has reached an agreement with the IIHF and the NHL to retain the rights to prospect Artem Kryukov for another year due to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Super League, and the 2000 first round pick still being under contract with Russia’s Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl). Kryukov is entering the final year of his deal with Lokomotiv, and will be able to join the Sabres next season as a free agent. While many considered the 15th overall selection of Kryukov ill advised, the young forward impressed Sabres coaching staff and management during 2003-04 season’s training camp, and has even been invited to skate for Russia’s national team this past season. The young center possesses a powerful combination of size and skill, and has recently put two solid, injury free seasons together after struggling with various injuries throughout the early years of his career. Even more importantly, he has not suffered another concussion since the terrible pre-draft incident where he was blind sided so hard that Kryukov had seizures on the ice.

Russian Super League - After not accompanying Russia’s national team to the U20 WJC, Alexander Naurov (Dallas Stars) made the best of his time back in Yaroslavl. The young forward skated with Artem Kriukov (Buffalo Sabres) and newly acquired by Lokomotiv Alexei Mikhnov (Edmonton Oilers) pots a goal for Lokomotiv. Naurov potted his second goal of the season with just a minute left in the second period. Him and Kriukov streaked into Avangard’s zone on a 2 on 1. Kriukov veered towards the net, but then fed the puck to Naurov with a precise pass, and Naurov put the puck between the legs of the sprawling goalie.

Karjala Cup EuroTour - RUSSIA – FINLAND 3:4 (1:2, 1:1, 1:1)GOALS: 0:1 Pakaslahti (Berg, Ruutu 1:58); 1:1 Kovalchuk
(Atlanta Thrashers) (Gusev, Simakov – 12:40); 1:2 Ruutu (Rita, Kukkonen
– 18:19); 1:3 Peltonen (Jokinen, Mantyla – 28:18pp); 2:3 Skugarev
(Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers), Simakov – 29:33);
3:3 Gladskikh (Vancouver Canucks) (Kaigorodov
-47:15); 3:4 Jokinen (Peltonen, Nummelin – 59:21); SHOTS: 33-30PIM: 38-16GOALIES: Sokolov – Backstrom GAME NOTES: The Russians started the game off with several individual ventures by
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) and Oleg
Saprykin (Phoenix Coyotes), but since there wasn’t much of combinational
hockey to speak of, the Finns had little trouble in stopping the talented Russians.
After going down one goal, Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta
Thrashers) tied the game for Russia half way through the first period when he
broke into the offensive on the left flank, beat a defenseman and shot the puck.
The goalie seemingly deflected the shot, but the puck slowly crossed the goal
line...Artem Kriukov (Buffalo Sabres) was given 2+10
penalty in the third period for hitting a Finn player from behind ...Kovalchuk
(Atlanta Thrashers) was active throughout the game and was a constant threat
to the Finns. Besides scoring, he assisted on Russia’s second goal when
he broke to the net and his attempted shot was finally put in by Skugarev...Alexei
Kaigorodov (Ottawa Senators) assisted on Russia’s game tying short
handed goal when he fed the puck to Evgeni Gladskykh, who streaked in next to
the boards through a defenseman and one timed Kaigorodov’s pass behind the
goalie...Oleg Saprykin (Phoenix Coyotes) played solid
individual hockey, but caused the first goal when he streaked in the offensive
zone by himself, was stripped of the puck and as a result left behind the play.

Artem Kryukov (Buffalo Sabres - #15/2000) started the 2004-05 season with a strong performance on Lokomotiv’s second line. Skating between veteran Vladimir Antipov and Florida Panther Denis Shvidky, Kriukov has clearly gained a lot of confidence and also appears to be feeding off the confidence bestowed in him by Lokomotiv’s management.

Artem Kriukov (Buffalo Sabres) looked strong in a friendly game for Lokomotiv a week ago. Apparently, he did not only impress us, but also made an impact on Lokomotiv’s coaching staff, who have recalled the young forward from Lokomotiv’s junior farm team, Lokomotiv 2. Kriukov skated the entire game on Lokomotiv’s fourth line, which was centered by Grigori Shafigullin (Nashville Predators).

Artem Kriukov made a splash this summer by arriving at Buffalo Sabres training camp without a contract and making a good impression on the NHL club’s management and fans. Unfortunately, the young center all but disappeared after the Buffalo was unable to negotiate a buy out of his contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, and he had to return to Russia. Thus far, Kriukov has skated for Lokomotiv’s farm club, Lokomotiv 2. There he is one of the club’s top goal scorers and has consistently skated on the top line. He has not yet cracked Lokomotiv’s main lineup, but did look very good on the main squad in the February 8th friendly game against Torpedo (Nizhni Novgorod).

When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Artem Kriukov in 2000, they took a risk on a talented forward, who seemed to be turning the corner after a vicious concussion. ......WANT TO READ MORE? You are not logged in. Please log in
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Talent Analysis:

Artem Kriukov is an powerful center who has the skill and the potential skill to be a top line center in the NHL. According to the Central Scouting Report, Artem is a "fast skater with a powerful shot". He is a natural center with great passing skills and excellent hockey sense. Artem has the height and the frame for the NHL, but lacks the necessary power, which also negatively impacted his confidence levels. However, as the case with many Russian prospects, he will likely bulk up upon his arrival to North America, fulfilling his physical potential and gaining more confidence.

Back In Russia:

2003-04: Buffalo took a chance on the young center, selecting
him very high in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, passing on players such as Alexander
Frolov and Anton Volchenkov. The team also invested a lot of money in the medical
expenses for the young player. The time has not yet come for the point of decision
whether to keep or cut the talented center, but after two seasons of struggling,
Sabres management will think long and hard whether to bring Kryukov over to
North America, or give him another season to find himself in Russia. Look for
Kryukov to be in Buffalo’s camp with a contract in hand. Buffalo is rebuilding
and if Kryukov gets his game together, he could make the squad from the training
camp. 2002-03: After being used sparingly by Lokomotiv during
the 2001-02 season, the team had serious plans for the young center. Unfortunately,
after starting the season off slow and quickly suffering a leg injury, Kryukov
fell off the radar. After missing the first two months of the season, the now
rehabilitated Kryukov was loaned by Lokomotiv to the Super League newcomer,
Sibir Novosibirsk. The talented center struggled to find chemistry with his
line mates and spent only 9 games during the entire season.

After his return Artem played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's junior team. There he registered an impressive 17 points (8+9) in 20 games. Prior to his injury Artem played for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv's main team for 3 games without any points. Artem did not participate in many international tournaments due to his injury last season, so there aren't many indicators of his abilities besides his performance for Yaroslavl's junior team, making hard for the scouts to rate him and causing the drop of his ranking in the CSS Prospect report. Currently Artem continues his development in the Russian Super League with SKA St. Petersburg and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (which loaned him to SKA for part of the 2000-01 season) and is expected to make his jump to North America next year.

Artem was ranked 7th by the CSS Mid-term report, but his ranking slipped to 14th in May before the draft. The reason for this decline was not his play on the ice, but rather its lack of during most of the 1999-2000 season. In November 1999, at a tournament, Artem Kriukov was checked with a vicious blind side hit. The hit not almost ended Artem's career, but almost killed him as he lay on the ice unconscious and convulsing. Artem was only saved by the quick actions of the medical staff, which included having to have his tongue held in place so Artem would not choke on it. Artem was out with a concussion, returning to action in the end of December.

NHL Outlook:

The Buffalo Sabres took a chance on this potential super star or a possible forgettable choice and picked Artem with their first pick in the first round (15th overall). The team's management has been looking for a top line center for quite some time without too much success. Artem Kriukov can potentially fill this role with his 6'3 size, skill level and hockey sense. Many teams did not include Artem in their draft plans due to his medical problems and his lack of exposure. However, the Buffalo medical staff examined Artem with positive results and according to the team's Director of Player Personnel, Don Luce, "Overall, members of our scouting staff saw him play on at least 15 occasions," eliminating the lack of exposure question for the Buffalo Sabres. Artem's response to his high selection was, "I didn’t expect to be drafted so high, 15th overall in the first round, because I didn’t play in the World Junior Championships because I was injured......But I am very happy."